11x17 Printer/Scanner 1

[skeletron]

This may be a redundant topic, but I'm looking to get some updated opinions for home office printer/scanners. Hopefully something "space conscious" as I'm currently sequestered to a 10x10 room in my apartment. My main issues for feedback:
1. Are autofeed scanners of this scale adequate for regular usage? Negative reviews are coming up about roller maintenance, etc.
2. Are wide format printers / all-in-one machines worth it in a home office application? The four that I have been suggested (Epson Workforce, Brother Inkvestment, HP OfficeJet) are all inkjet printers. I am really in need of something that I can print site drawings on for markups/meetings.
3. Any good, realistic feedback on others' experiences?

Thanks.

 

[Ron]

I have a Brother 11x17 for printing and scanning. Works great and I use it for submittal drawings when jurisdictions accept 11x17.

 

[Ingenuity]

I too have a Brother 11x17 6000 series for scanning and printing. It is an inkjet and getting a bit old, however it has worked well.

I am looking for another Brother 11x17 but with laser printing not inkjet, but I don't think Brother make such a combination.

 

[skeletron]

@Ingenuity: yeah, that is kind of what I'm getting after because I think a laser printer would perform better for my needs (I don't need to print photos or colour). But I haven't any luck finding a combination printer that checks all the boxes, and maybe I don't have to worry about it based on the scale of my operation.

 

[IRstuff]

I've had inkjet printers, but I use printers so seldomly that they tend to dry out, so I've only bought laser printers in the last decade or so.

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[dauwerda]

If you go with laser that is capable of 11x17, for whatever reason getting the all-in-one features seems to add a few thousand dollars to the purchase price. They are also much larger than an inkjet. The small office I work at purchased this one,

https://www.amazon.com/Lexmark-CS921de-Color-Laser-Printer/dp/B074VCLNZM

about a year ago and we have been very happy with it so far. We have a dedicated scanner (ScanSnap I think) for scanning.

Personally, I have the Epson workforce at home and it works well enough (not with the default print settings that make it print quickly, to get a decent print you have to slow it way down), but I use it so infrequently, every time I do need it I have to deal with dried out ink. I have an all-in-one laser printer for 8.5x11 and that does most of my at-home printing. All this to say, I will only ever buy laser printers in the future.

 

[Guest0527211403]

I have had almost the exact experience with the Epson workforce printer at home.. it's essentially an 11x17 scanner only now. The last time I had to print in 11x17 was one of the few times I went to the office in the first few months of covid.

The Epson did a great job printing some promo booklets on glossy paper that were stapled and folded to letter size, which is what we originally bought it to do at home. It does ok on drawings too but I really do prefer laser. It's too bad that common laser printers have toner/drum cartridges that are sized around the 8.5" dimension rather than the 11" on a letter size sheet.

 

[SteelPE]

I have two Epson Workforce printers. One that does 8 1/2 x 11 sheets that I bought first. I then lost my job a few months later and I then purchased the 11x17 version (which had only just come out). I then tried to give the 8 1/2 x 11 away and I didn't have any luck, so I kept them both (they both use the same ink cartridges). That was 9 years ago. I still have them, and use them regularly. I am a one man operation and don't have the room for a plotter. I have multiple computer screens that I use in combination with 11x17 prints for drawing markups and shop drawing reviews. It is serviceable. I have run thousands of pages through the 8 1/2 x 11 scanner (guessing 5,000+) so I use that scanner regularly. I use the 11x17 scanner maybe 1-2x per week. They are not fast at all. I have not had any issue with the rollers, but I am guessing that has to do with the frequent use.

 

[kipfoot]

I've used an office jet 7610 for, like, 5 or 6 years or more and it's been fine. The reason I chose this initially is that it fits larger than 11x17 paper and I wanted to print 12" X 18" so that I could print Arch D size at 50% without cutting off the title block or other detail. I've used 11x17, too, because it's easier to find and folds to fit with other sheets. I feed it knock-off ink cartridges and it works. It also works well over the network.

I use it as a scanner for 8 1/2" x 11" sketches and as a copier from time to time when my kid wants to do the same puzzle from the newspaper.

My main gripe with it is that it only has one paper tray, so I have to put in the big paper when I want to use it. Then I forget to take it out and my kid will print homework over the network onto the big format paper.

 

[dik]

dauwerda... I have a ScanSnap at home, for years, and it works great... sorta folds up when not in use and can handle about 20 sheets, both sides on a single pass.

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[XR250]

I second the Brother 11x17

 

[gte447f]

I am currently using an Epson Work Force 7710. I have been using it for a year or so with good results. It replaced an Epson Work Force 7520 (I think) that lasted for about 5 years. I chose both because they can print 12x18 which is of course half size of 24x36 which most of my drawings are. The 7520 was better than the 7710 because it had 2 paper trays, so I could load one with 8.5x11 and the other with 12x18. The 7710 only has one paper tray, so I have to change out the paper when I need to print 12x18, or you can load 1 sheet at a time into a rear paper feed slot. Strangely, even though the 7710 and the 7520 both have capability to print 12x18, the scanner bed can only accommodate 11x17, which is annoying. I also had a smaller Epson 8.5x11 printer. All of my Epsons have been inkjets, and all have worked best if you use them regularly. If they sit for a while without being used, the print quality will decline, and may only be partially restored to an extent by cleaning/replacing ink cartridges. Also, if the declining print quality doesn't lead to replacement first, then the software/firmware updates will eventually lose pace with the your operating system changes/updates, resulting in communication problems and other annoying printing problems that will cause you to eventually need to replace the printers.

 

[phamENG]

I just picked up an Epson 7820 a few months ago. It works well. The 7840 has two paper trays, but was an extra $50. I have room to turn mine sideways and keep 11x17 in the feeder tray on the back (if you use the rear tray, it can't be up against a wall), so I didn't think I needed the second tray. In retrospect it might be nice, but I'm still okay with saving the a few bucks.

It has worked nicely so far. While I prefer the clean look of PDF markups for drawings, I'm still faster with pen and paper. This all in one lets me do that. It's also nice if I want to carry a set to the job site and mark it up. I have a Note 10+ phone that lets me do it for smaller stuff electronically, but if I'm taking a lot of notes its easier to have an 11x17 clipboard and a red pen.

My only complaint is ink consumption. Dry-out isn't a problem here. I'm already mixing colors for a composite black after only 4 months of use.

 

[moltenmetal]

Thanks for the recommendations gte447f and phamENG. Drawing P&IDs by hand in eraseable pen and taking pictures of them with my phone was getting really old, really fast- and most of our work is illegible at 8.5x11. We'll see if the boss will spring for it, otherwise my private consultancy will have to pay for it.

 

[phamENG]

You mention taking pictures with your phone - are you using the camera, or do you have a scanner app? When I'm in the field, I use Office Lens (a Microsoft app that syncs nicely with my Office 365 suite) to scan my notes as I go - ever dropped your clipboard in the mud after a day of fieldwork? - and it works really well. Once you snap the picture, you set the boundaries of the paper in the shot and it "flattens" the image and gives you an image, pdf, or other file types. If you do PDF, it'll even do multiple pages. I agree it's not a perfect replacement for a real scanner, but with a really good phone camera it comes close up to 11x17.

 

[dik]

phamENG... you need OCR, too.

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[phamENG]

My PDF program can do that after I get back to my desktop or laptop.

 

[Agent666]

You can also send from Office Lens to Onenote which has built in handwriting and text recognition. Its not the greatest on handwriting but allows for handwritten scanned notes to be searchable.

 

[EdStainless]

I have an older HP. The cartridges are expensive because you replace the drum every time.
It is large. With HP I would hunt EBay.

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